"Don't Worry, Allah Is Taking Care Of Us" - KT051 Pilgrims

From Amirul Mohd Sajadi

MAKKAH, May 6 (Bernama) -- “I messaged all my family to tell them not to worry. I said, insya-Allah, Allah SWT will protect me and all the pilgrims here.”

Those were the composed remarks of Mat Isa Hassan, 65, a farmer from Sabak Bernam, Selangor, upon his arrival in Makkah following an unexpected disruption to his pilgrimage journey, after the flight carrying hundreds of Malaysian pilgrims was diverted to Muscat, Oman on Monday due to a technical issue.

Despite the unforeseen situation, Mat Isa said his faith in Allah, together with the strong cooperation among fellow pilgrims while in Oman, helped to keep everyone calm.

“My family in Malaysia was worried when they learned the flight did not proceed directly to Jeddah, but I managed to contact them and told them not to be overly concerned. Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly,” he said when met upon arrival at the pilgrims’ accommodation in Rehab Al Janadriyah here today.

Meanwhile, housewife Bibit Tugiman, 74, said she was initially unaware of what had happened until she was informed by the flight crew that the aircraft had landed in Oman.

“I was happy and moved…actually, I did not know what had happened. I only realised the plane had landed in Oman when we were about to disembark. When I was told it was all for safety reasons, I accepted it calmly,” she said, holding back tears.

Bibit said her gratitude was beyond words when she finally set foot in the Holy Land after a journey that took longer than scheduled.

“When I saw the land of Makkah, all my tiredness, worry and anxiety disappeared. All that remained was gratitude that I had finally arrived,” she said.

The Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) said flight KT051, which landed at Muscat International Airport, on May 4 due to a technical issue, safely arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah at 5.33 am local time today.

All 278 pilgrims were then taken directly to their accommodation at Rehab Al Janadriyah and were received by Malaysian Haj Delegation head Mohd Hisham Harun, together with TH management officials and personnel who had been on standby earlier.

Mohd Hisham said TH remains committed to prioritising the welfare and safety of pilgrims, even when faced with unforeseen circumstances involving flight operations.

“Although there was an unavoidable situation due to technical issues with the flight, through the efforts of all parties, all affected pilgrims were safely brought to the Holy Land and the haj operations continue as usual,” he said.

-- BERNAMA